More People In The World Have A Mobile Phone Than A Toilet

This is one of the facts that Water.org is working to change. Since 2009 is has helped hundreds of communities in Africa, Asia, and Central America gain access to safe water and sanitation. All of the projects that are supported by Water.org are self-sustaining, with organizational and financial structures in place to allow communities to independently operate and maintain them. Projects have an active water committee governing the operation of the water system, and users paying a water bill to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the water system. I am working with The Mission List on the 10 Days 10 Lives campaign to help raise funds to provide clean water, and awareness about the water crisis. Our collective goal was to raise enough to provide 100 people clean water for life through Water.org programs. We are thrilled to have surpassed our goal, but there is still more work to be done. 884 Million People in the world lack access to clean water. It seems overwhelming, but just think, if we all collectively worked for solutions to the water crisis, many lives of those who die from water related illnesses each year could be saved. If you would like to help you can start your own campaign to keep the progress going.

To see all the good in the world that Water.org is doing, check out the below links to countries where Water.org has active programs.

Photo provided by Water.org

Asia

Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Water.org offers both grant and WaterCredit programs, and is addressing safe water needs in both rural and urban areas. Our urban program focuses on the slums of the capital city, Dhaka. Our rural program is located in Rajshahi and Manikganj Districts.

India. Water.org’s program in India provides safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities to the families living in five states – Andhrah Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. Water.org offers both grant and WaterCredit programs in India.

Philippines. Water.org’s program in the Philippines began in 2003 with a project in Barangay Villahermosa. Currently, Water.org does not have active programs in the Philippines.

Latin America & the Caribbean

El Salvador. Water.org has completed two rural water and sanitation projects serving over 1,200 people in the communities of Caulote and Las Americas. These communities are located in the department of Cuscatlán, located approximately 20 miles northeast of San Salvador. The new water systems in El Salvador are spring-fed pumped systems. Currently, Water.org does not have active programs in El Salvador.

Guatemala. Our projects in Guatemala are located in the department of Quiché. Quiché is in the Western highlands of the country. Because of the high prevalence of mountain streams in the Guatemalan highlands, all of our water solutions in Guatemala are spring-fed gravity flow systems. Currently, Water.org does not have active programs in Guatemala.

Haiti. Haiti is one of the poorest nations on earth. Half of its citizens lack access to clean water and only one in five have a toilet. At the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, Water.org announced its commitment to reach 50,000 Haitians with clean water and sanitation over the next three years.

Honduras. Water.org has helped more than 40 Honduran communities build their own safe water systems. Our program in Honduras focuses on the Departments of Lempira and Intibuca, in western Honduras. The once heavily forested Departments now suffer from deforestation. This has led to extreme depletion of the local water tables, forcing women and children to walk long distances to collect water for their families. Currently, Water.org does not have active programs in Honduras.

Africa

Ethiopia. Our program in Tigray, Ethiopia is serving 32,000 people in 76 communities and six schools. Tigray is a region in northern Ethiopia that borders on Sudan. Tigray is often one of the regions that is hardest hit by drought and crop failure.

Ghana. Program activities in Ghana take place in the Volta and Upper East regions, located in the southeast and northern parts of the country, respectively. Activities include community-based water, sanitation, and hygiene education programs.

Kenya. Water.org is working in the Kisumu region of Kenya. Located on the equator, Kisumu’s climate is hot all year. Much of Nyanza Province, where Water.org is working, is semi-arid and is subject to severe drought. Most people obtain their drinking water from Lake Victoria, seasonal rivers and streams, and hand-dug wells. All of these sources are contaminated. Women and children walk up to six kilometers each day to haul water, a task that can take three hours. Water is not only contaminated at its source but also from the way it is transported and stored.

Uganda. Water.org’s projects in Uganda are a mixture of grant and WaterCredit projects in urban and semi-rural communities located close to Kampala. More than 40% of people in the greater Kampala area live in unplanned settlements. Of those residents, only 17% have access to piped water. Many people use springs and other surface sources that are highly contaminated due to poor drainage and little regulation of waste disposal.